Next LessonHow to turn a PDF or ebook into flashcards and quizzes
To turn a PDF into flashcards, pull out the terms it defines and write each one as a card with the term on one side and its meaning on the other, then add questions about causes, steps and comparisons for each chapter. Next Lesson does this for you: upload a PDF, EPUB ebook, Word (.docx), Markdown or text file of up to 20 MB and you get notes by topic, flashcards, short lessons and a test for each topic.
Written by Next Lesson. The manual method is below as well, for anyone who would rather do it by hand.
The short version
- Split it by topic. Chapters and headings are the natural units.
- Pull out the definitions. Every “X is”, “X means” and “X, called” is a flashcard.
- Add the ideas that link terms: what causes what, which step comes first, how two things differ.
- Learn the cards first, then answer mixed questions about the whole topic.
- Review on a schedule, with the cards you missed coming back sooner.
Which files can I turn into flashcards?
| File | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Lecture handouts, papers, textbook chapters, slides saved as PDF | |
| EPUB | Ebooks |
| Word (.docx) | Course notes, essays, reading packs |
| Markdown or text | Your own notes |
A scanned PDF that is only pictures of pages has no text to read. If you can select the words in your PDF viewer, Next Lesson can read them.
What makes a good flashcard?
One idea per card, asked so that there is one right answer. “What is opportunity cost?” is a good card. “Explain chapter 4” is not. Keep the answer in the source’s own words, because those are the words your course will use, and keep it short enough to say out loud in a few seconds.
Flashcards are only the start. Terms on their own are trivia; the exam asks how they connect. That is why Next Lesson follows the cards with lessons that ask about the ideas: match terms to meanings, tell a cause from its effect, put steps in order, and say which topic an idea belongs to. See active recall for why answering beats rereading.
How do I study from the flashcards?
Learn a topic’s cards first, then do its short lessons, then its topic test. After that, stop deciding what to review yourself: let a schedule bring back what you missed and what is fading. Spaced repetition explains how that schedule works; Next Lesson uses FSRS, a modern spaced repetition method.
In Next Lesson every note, term and question links back to its passage in the document, so when a card makes no sense you can read the paragraph it came from. If your course is lectures rather than reading, the same steps work from video: see how to turn a lecture video into study notes.
Questions
Can I turn a PDF into flashcards automatically?
Yes. Upload the PDF to Next Lesson and it makes notes by topic, flashcards from the terms the text defines, short lessons and a test for each topic. It uses fixed rules, not AI, so the same PDF always gives the same cards.
Does it work with ebooks?
Yes. Next Lesson reads EPUB ebooks, as well as PDF, Word (.docx), Markdown and plain text files of up to 20 MB.
How many flashcards should I make from one chapter?
One per term the chapter defines, and no more than you can review. For a typical textbook chapter that is somewhere between ten and forty. Fewer good cards that you actually review beat a large deck you never finish.
Can I use a scanned PDF?
Only if it has a text layer. If you can select and copy the words in your PDF viewer, it can be read. A scan that is only images of pages has no text to turn into cards.